Sukta 57
Sukta 4.57
Vāmadeva Gautama (traditional for 4.57)
Gāyatrī (probable for several verses in 4.57; requires full scan)
This hymn is an agrarian and cosmic fertility prayer to Kṣetrasya Pati, the Lord of the Field, asking for victory in cultivation, thriving cattle and horses, and the steady increase of nourishment. It widens into an invocation of Śunā-Sīrā (auspicious prosperity and the ploughing power) and calls Parjanya’s rains to make the earth sweet, fruitful, and supportive of human work and inner growth.
In this hymn
Addressed to
Mantras
Mantra 1
क्षेत्रस्य पतिना वयं हितेनेव जयामसि । गामश्वं पोषयित्न्वा स नो मृळातीदृशे ॥
खेत के मालिक की मदद से हम जीतते हैं। वो हमारे लिए गाय और घोड़े को पालता है। यह दोनों चमक और ताकत के रूप हैं। हम ऐसे ही उसकी दया माँगते हैं।
Mantra 2
क्षेत्रस्य पते मधुमन्तमूर्मिं धेनुरिव पयो अस्मासु धुक्ष्व । मधुश्चुतं घृतमिव सुपूतमृतस्य नः पतयो मृळयन्तु ॥
खेत के मालिक, हमें मीठी बरकत दे। जैसे गाय दूध देती है, वैसे ही हमें दे। यह घी की तरह साफ और अच्छा हो। धरम के रखवाले हम पर मेहरबानी करें।
Mantra 3
मधुमतीरोषधीर्द्याव आपो मधुमन्नो भवत्वन्तरिक्षम् । क्षेत्रस्य पतिर्मधुमान्नो अस्त्वरिष्यन्तो अन्वेनं चरेम ॥
पेड़-पौधे मीठे हों, आसमान और पानी मीठा हो। हवा और साँस की दुनिया भी मीठी हो। खेत का मालिक हमारे लिए मीठा हो। हम उसके साथ चल के सुरक्षित रहें।
Mantra 4
शुनं वाहाः शुनं नरः शुनं कृषतु लाङ्गलम् । शुनं वरत्रा बध्यन्तां शुनमष्ट्रामुदिङ्गय ॥
हल जोड़े वाले सही से चलें, काम करने वाले भी। हल ज़मीन को अच्छी तरह काटे। बाल और फट्टी सब सही से बनी हो। चुभाने वाली लाठी भी सही से काम करे। सब काम अच्छा हो।
Mantra 5
शुनासीराविमां वाचं जुषेथां यद्दिवि चक्रथुः पयः । तेनेमामुप सिञ्चतम् ॥
हे शुनाशिरौ, हमारी बात सुनो। तुमने आसमान में वोह रस बनाया जो सबको खिलाता है। अब उसी बरकत से इस खेत को पानी दो। काम पूरा हो जाए।
Mantra 6
अर्वाची सुभगे भव सीते वन्दामहे त्वा । यथा नः सुभगाससि यथा नः सुफलाससि ॥
हे सीता, हमारी तरफ मुड़ के देख। हम तुझे प्रणाम करते हैं। तू हमारे लिए भाग्य लाने वाली बन। तू हमारे लिए अच्छे फल लाने वाली बन।
Mantra 7
इन्द्रः सीतां नि गृह्णातु तां पूषानु यच्छतु । सा नः पयस्वती दुहामुत्तरामुत्तरां समाम् ॥
इंद्र इस खेत को पकड़ के रखे। पूषन उसे सही रास्ते पे ले जाए। यह खेत हमारे लिए हर साल और ज़्यादा अनाज दे। हर साल ऊपर वाली फसल मिले।
Mantra 8
शुनं नः फाला वि कृषन्तु भूमिं शुनं कीनाशा अभि यन्तु वाहैः । शुनं पर्जन्यो मधुना पयोभिः शुनासीरा शुनमस्मासु धत्तम् ॥
हल हमारे खेत को अच्छे से खोद दे। किसान अपने बैल जोड़ के काम पे आए। बारिश मीठा पानी बरसाए। हे शुना और सिरा, तुम हमारे ऊपर यह अच्छा डाल दो।
Inside Sukta 57
How it unfolds
- Where it opens
Invocation of Kṣetrasya Pati as the power by whom success is won and nourishment is secured.
- Development
The hymn expands from protection and victory to the concrete means of fertility—speech offered to Śunā-Sīrā, the heavenly ‘payaḥ,’ and the blessing of tools, workers, and yoked forces.
- Climax
A vivid, comprehensive blessing: ploughshares cleave the earth auspiciously, workers advance with teams, and Parjanya rains sweetness—outer agriculture and cosmic water-power converge.
- Where it settles
The prayer returns the boon inward: may auspiciousness and increase be established not only in the field but also within the worshippers themselves.
The deity: Kṣetrasya Pati, with Śunā-Sīrā and Parjanya as allied fertility powers
- In the VedaŚunā-Sīrā are called to accept the hymn and to pour the heavenly ‘payaḥ’ (nourishing essence) upon the field; Parjanya is invoked to rain sweetness and milk-like abundance.
- Cosmic functionTo secure fertility and right yield by harmonizing earth (kṣetra), human labor (ploughing/sowing), and the celestial waters (rain and nourishing essence), ensuring the continuity of food, wealth, and life-force.
- Inner significanceThe ‘field’ becomes the inner ground of consciousness and character: disciplined effort (ploughing) opens the soil of the being, rain-like grace descends as nourishment, and the powers of order and increase establish auspiciousness (śunaṃ) within the practitioner.
The seer
- Vāmadeva GautamaGautama gotra (Vāmadeva of the Gautamas) · A prominent seer of Maṇḍala 4, celebrated for hymns that combine luminous mysticism with practical life-powers (strength, wealth, right action), and for voicing a strong inner/visionary tone in praise of the gods.
Famous verses
kṣetrasya patinā vayaṃ
शुनासीराविमां वाचं जुषेथां यद्दिवि चक्रथुः पयः । तेनेमामुप सिञ्चतम् ॥śunaṃ naḥ phālā vi kṛṣantu bhūmim
Attributes of the deity
- Guardian of cultivated space and its prosperity
- Bestower of nourishment (payaḥ), increase, and success
- Linked to cattle/horse symbolism (sustenance and energy)
- Works through cooperative powers: ploughing force (Sīrā), auspicious increase (Śunā), and rain (Parjanya)
- Favors right human effort aligned with cosmic rhythms
Also by this seer
- Primary seer associated with much of Rig Veda Maṇḍala 4 (a large cluster of hymns attributed to Vāmadeva)
- Noted for hymns to Indra, Agni, and the Aśvins within Mandala 4 that emphasize illumination, heroic power, and right ordering of life
- Connected in later tradition with the Vāmadeva name in Vedic and post-Vedic reflections on inspired speech and realization
The rite, step by step
- Prepare a clean place at the edge of the field; establish a small fire (or offer at an existing āhavanīya) and set water and grain nearby.
- Recite the opening verses to Kṣetrasya Pati, requesting protection, success in work, and the nurturing of ‘cow and horse’ (sustenance and strength).
- Invoke Śunā-Sīrā as the paired agrarian powers; offer speech (stuti) and ask them to ‘pour’ the heavenly nourishment upon the field.
- Symbolically begin ploughing (or touch ploughshare/seed-basket), reciting the verse(s) that bless ploughshares, workers, and yoked teams.
- Invoke Parjanya for sweet, nourishing rains and for the ripening of the crop.
- Conclude with a final request that auspiciousness and increase be placed ‘in us’—linking outer yield with inner well-being.
- Distribute a small portion of offered food to participants; sprinkle water in the four directions or along furrows as a seal of blessing.
Offerings
- Ghee in fire (ājya)
- Grains/seeds (barley, rice, or local seed) offered or touched as consecrated
- Milk/curds or a milk-libation (payaḥ symbolism)
- Water libation/sprinkling (for Parjanya and fertility)
Frequently Asked Questions
Kṣetrasya Pati means “Lord of the Field.” In this hymn he is the divine guardian of cultivated land who grants success in work, protects the field, and increases nourishment and prosperity.
Śunā-Sīrā are paired fertility powers connected with auspicious increase and ploughing. The hymn asks them to accept the prayer and to “pour” nourishing essence onto the field so that cultivation and harvest succeed.
It is directly about farming—ploughing, workers, tools, and rain—but it also reads symbolically: the “field” can be one’s inner nature, ploughing is disciplined effort, and rain is grace that brings inner growth and well-being.
Ask anything about Sukta 57 of the Rig Veda
Answers come straight from the texts, with the shlokas they draw on. Ask in your own words.
A free sign-in with Google or Apple keeps your chat saved across web and the app.
Read Rig Veda in the Vedapath app
Scan the QR code to open this directly in the app, with word-by-word meanings, Sanskrit recitation where available, and more.
